REPORT: Russian Critics Celebrate Detained Director

Director Kirill Serebrennikov

The Russian Association of Theatre Critics has named director Kirill Serebrennikov as Person of the Year for his “unprecedented dedication to theatre in circumstances of house arrest.”

Serebrennikov has been detained under house arrest since August 23, 2017, while undergoing investigation for “financial mismanagement” related to the interdisciplinary performing arts project titled The Platform. Prominent artistic personalities and professional associations in Russia, Europe, and the Americas have considered his trial a politically motivated case of selective justice, and called for his release. At the Europe Theatre Prize festivities in St. Petersburg last November, leading Russian and European theatre artists decried Serebrennikov’s continued detention and repression, which added a note of risk and danger to the prize ceremony.

According to the website of PEN America:

Serebrennikov has been an activist and government critic, making him a target of repression. He has protested against Russia’s involvement in the Russo-Georgian war of 2008, election fraud in 2011, persecution of the LGBT community, and arrests of Pussy Riot members, among other issues. He called Russia a country of “unabolished slavery” where people do not value freedom and a chasm exists between the people and power.

During Serebrennikov’s house arrest, two productions that he initiated were presented to the public: Così fan tutte at Opernhaus Zürich and Baroque at the Gogol Center in Moscow. His film, The Summer, was presented at Cannes Film Festival. The ballet Nureyev, which he directed, and his production of Small Tragedies were nominated for the Golden Mask, the Russian National Theatre Prize.

OPEN LETTER: Oppression of International Artists

From Association internationale des critiques de théâtre / International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC)

AN OPEN LETTER ON THE OPPRESSION OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS

In the wake of governmental repression of theater artists in Hungary and, more recently, in Belarus, the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC) adds its voice to the global chorus calling for greater freedom on the pages of publications and on the stages of oppressed theatre companies.

As a non-profit, Non-Govermental Organization recognized under Statute B of UNESCO, the purpose of the IATC is to promote international cooperation through international engagement and advocacy for building bridges among cultures. In the recent repression and imprisonment of theatre artists, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko gives credence to critics who have called Belarus “the last true remaining dictatorship in the heart of Europe.” According to the New York Times, the deeply contentious election of December 19, 2010, after which Lukashenko claimed to have received 79 percent of the vote, led to the leader's announcement that more than 600 “bandits and saboteurs,” including several of his opponents, had been arrested.

The leadership of the IATC is deeply disturbed by the rising international tide of oppression of the arts and literature, especially of theatres and theatre artists. We deplore the conviction and brief imprisonment of Belarus Free Theatre's company manager Artiom Zhelezniak on charges of "illegal assembly." We celebrate the departure from Belarus of company members Nikolai Khalezin, Natalia Kolyada and others, who have been recognized internationally and were honored with a "Special Mention" by the Europe Theatre Prize.

Members of the IATC are theatre critics, but we are also theatre advocates and we will resist all governmental attempts to censor or otherwise marginalize the important work of our global theatre artists. When some artists and writers are not free to think, work, and create in an unrestricted manner, we all suffer a loss of freedom and of human possibility.

We call on all who love freedom—artists, audience members, governments—to rally against these specific oppressions, to agitate for greater creative freedom, and to join our voices in support of those who cannot, or may not, speak for themselves. We encourage our members to shine a bright light on these events and to keep these matters in the forefront of our global artistic discourse.

If we join together in this struggle, we shall prevail.

Sincerely,

Yun-Cheol Kim, President (Korea)
Michel Vaïs, Secretary General (Canada)

International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC)

Association internationale des critiques de théâtre (AICT)

YOUNG CRITICS: Seminar Announced

From Michel Vaïs, Secretary General of AICT-IATC



Palace Square, St. Petersburg

The International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC) is pleased to announce a Young Critics’ Seminar to be held in conjunction with the 14th Europe Theatre Prize in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 12-17, 2011. The seminar will be comprised of three groups (working in the English, French and Russian languages), each of which will be open to a maximum of 10 participants.

Applications are invited from professional theatre critics between 18 and 35 years of age—there is flexibility in the upper age limit, members of the American Theatre Critics Association should contact International chair Jeffrey Eric Jenkins before submitting an application. The application form also requires a one-page CV, three examples of writing as a professional critic and a letter of recommendation from the critic’s national section of IATC.

Hermitage Museum Complex, St. Petersburg



Successful applicants will be responsible for the cost of travel to and from St. Petersburg, and the cost of any visa required for entry to Russia. However, the Europe Theatre Prize generously offers participants free hotel accommodation (you may be required to share a room with another participant of the same gender), meals and tickets for performances.

The seminar groups will be led by three experienced theatre critics: Jean-Pierre Han (Francophone group), Mark Brown (Anglophone group) and Nikolai Pesochinsky (Russophone group). The annual Europe Theatre Prize has been awarded to many great theatre makers (Krystian Lupa, Patrice Chéreau, Peter Zadek, Lev Dodin), and showcases many world-class productions.

Applications are requested to be sent by e-mail to AICT-IATC Director of Seminars Jean-Pierre Han before February 28, 2011. Members of the American Theatre Critics Association considering application should contact Jeffrey Eric Jenkins by February 1, 2011. A list of successful applicants will be made available as soon as possible so participants may make arrangements for travel and visas.